We all know, the solar system is one of the biggest beneficial renewable sources and green energy in the world.
The use of solar energy is increasing from domestic to industrial purposes. Today, considering the climate changes, it is being adopted almost everywhere.
Solar energy impacts the environment very less (almost negligible if we compare it with other energy resources). So, it is also called ‘Green Energy‘. We can easily install, use, and maintain green energy, for a long time span.
In this article, you will learn how the solar system actually works and the difference between on-grid and off-grid solar systems.
About Solar System
As in today’s world renewable energy is a very important source of energy. As we know the per-unit rate of electricity is day by day increasing.
We are spending thousands of rupees (Indian currency) on electricity every year. Instead of that if we adopt the free-cost energy source like solar energy that will be going to save our money as well as the pollution due to energy generation by the thermal power plant and nuclear power plant etc.
If you want to generate solar energy and convert it to electrical energy, you should require a few components.
Useful Components for Solar System Conversion
There is a list of components that are used to convert solar energy into electricity.
- Solar or Photovoltaic module
- DC to AC converter
- Bidirectional meter
- Net meter
- Surge protection devices
- Meter
Classification of the Solar System
Based on the working role, the solar system is classified into two types,
- On-grid Solar System
- Off-grid Solar System
Let’s dive into each type one by one. You will also learn about on-grid vs off-grid solar systems.
1. On-Grid Solar System
In the on-grid solar system, we don’t use battery backup. It works on the electricity coming from the electricity board and solar energy coming from the inverter.
In this case, if the power supply fails our total system doesn’t work. As this works on the net metering system.
Now we will look into, What is Net Metering?
The net meter is the meter that automatically calculates the import and export of units from the grid and from the solar inverter.
So after the month the bill generated on the net units i.e.
- How many units you have used from the electricity board? And
- How many units you’ve used from the solar system?
Calculating the Net unit by using the formula,
Net Unit= (Total units generated from solar – Units used from the electricity)
As we see, an On-grid system is easy to install and use too.
Main Drawback of the On-Grid System:
- If the electrical supply is disconnected from the electricity board, our solar system stops working. In that condition, it generates the units but we can’t use them.
2. Off-Grid Solar System
The working of the on-grid and off-grid systems is the same. The only difference is the battery backup.
If we now after the failure of supply from the electricity board, we have to face the dark situations after having a solar system too. This drawback is converted into an advantage in the off-grid solar system.
In the off-grid solar system, we use the battery as the converted solar energy into electrical energy. This energy helps to store or charge the battery and used for our purpose.
Main Advantage of Off-Grid System:
- Even after the failure of supply our battery provides supply to our system.
You can develop your own solar system using on-grid and off-grid. Read detail in the automatic solar tracking system project.
These are all the basic concepts about the solar system and on-grid vs off-grid solar systems.
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I completed electrical engineering from the Government College of Engineering, Amravati. Currently, I’m working in Photon Energy Tech PVT LTD as Electrical Engineer.